As more streamers and networks search for the next hit show, any piece of IP with a reliable fan base is fair game. While sequels, prequels, and spinoffs have been popular for some time, TV has discovered another valuable source of inspiration: video games.
It’s no surprise that video games perform well in other mediums, seeing as the industry is predicted to be worth close to $300 billion by 2029. What's surprising is how well-suited it is for adult-oriented fare. While family-friendly films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Minecraft have been hits on the big screen, video games have offered smaller screens edgier, more genre-based series.
Whether you’re a fan of their source material or not, here are some of the best shows to watch based on video games.
Resident Evil
Creator: Andrew Dabb
Cast: Ella Balinska, Tamara Smart, Siena Agudong
Genre: Action, Horror
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Where to Stream: Netflix
Since it was first launched in 1996, Capcom’s zombie horror survival series has been a huge hit with gamers. Adapted for film as well, the series’s eight (and counting) movies have collectively grossed over a billion dollars. With that in mind, it was only a matter of time before it became one of the latest video games to find its way onto TV screens without a controller.
Not to be confused with the animated series, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, Resident Evil is set in 2036, more than ten years after a deadly outbreak has transformed Jade Wesker’s life into one teeming with zombies. Over the course of the series, viewers are treated to plenty of horror action as Jade (played by Ella Balinska) fights for survival and pieces together her father’s involvement in the ominous Umbrella Corporation.
Whether you love the world of Resident Evil because of the games or movies, you’re likely to be very happy with Netflix’s adaptation… Except for the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger.
Halo
Creator: Kyle Killen, Steven Kane
Cast: Pablo Schreiber, Shabana Azmi, Natasha Culzac
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Rating: TV-14
Seasons: 2
Where to Stream: Paramount+
When it comes to multiplayer first-person shooters, Halo is in a league of its own. Arguably, the game that drove much of Xbox’s early success, Halo is a major original series to land on Paramount+. Faithfully following its source material as Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) defends the planet from the alien Covenant, the series is as action-packed and intense as its video game counterpart.
While some fans of sci-fi TV found the first season of the show a little more by-the-book, season two was seen as a vast improvement on an already solid foundation. Delving deeper into the man behind the helmet, season two of Halo is just as gritty, but with even more to offer. We’re excited to see where things head in season three.
Twisted Metal
Creator: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Michael Jonathan Smith
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Seanoa
Genre: Comedy, Action
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Where to Stream: Peacock
One of the more over-the-top video games Sony ever released was PlayStation’s Twisted Metal series. In this demolition derby-style game, players used all manner of weapons to take down opponents as they sped around tracks and arenas.
After failing to get enough funding in the 2010s for a film adaptation, it was later announced that the series had been optioned for TV. Featuring over-the-top characters and over-the-top action, Twisted Metal perfectly mines the fun of the original video games. Equally fun are the episode titles, which range from "R04DK11" to "ONURMRK" as a creative spin on vanity license plates.
What’s not to like about ice cream trucks and machine guns?
Gangs of London
Creator: Gareth Evans, Matt Flannery
Cast: Joe Cole, Colm Meaney, Lucian Msamati
Genre: Crime, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 3
Where to Stream: AMC+
Adapted from a spinoff of The Getaway video game series, Gangs of London is one of the lesser-known shows on this list. However, just because you may not have played the game from London Studios doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy this crime drama about a crime-ridden underworld thrown into disarray after a powerful criminal named Finn Wallace is assassinated.
Like many shows adapted from their video game counterparts, Gangs of London is full of action. While some may find it a bit over-the-top, that’s honestly part of the series’s charm, a far cry from the subtler dramas normally associated with the UK. With equal parts Game of Thrones and The Sopranos, this story of family, territory, and blood feuds is also as well-acted as any other show on television.
Three seasons in, the showrunners continue to find surprising, violent ways to kill their characters. It’s bloody thrilling.
The Witcher
Creator: Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
Cast: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 3
Where to Stream: Netflix
Okay, so, full confession: People can be particular about whether or not Netflix’s The Witcher is more of an adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s books that inspired the video game or the video game inspired by Sapkowski’s books. Whichever way you land, one thing remains true: the world and lore that originated in the nine fantasy novels of the same name have been cult hits no matter what shape they take.
With its magical monster hunters, elven sorceresses, and epic armies, The Witcher was largely seen as Netflix’s impressive answer to Game of Thrones when it was released in 2019. Three seasons in, it may be viewed as more of a companion to the canon of the novels (much like the video games), but the fact remains: for fans of this fantasy world, there’s plenty of overlap.
Fallout
Creator: Graham Wagner, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Cast: Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Adventure
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Where to Stream: Amazon Prime
Bethesda Softworks is no slouch when it comes to making great games. From The Elder Scrolls to Dishonored and Starfield, they’ve been responsible for some of the most cherished video game series of modern times, with Fallout taking a top spot next to games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.
It turns out the weird, post-apocalyptic world of Fallout is ripe for exploration via an expanded TV series, with actors like Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), and Walton Goggins (The White Lotus, Righteous Gemstones) having a blast in the violent, goofy world of Fallout shelters and desolate wastelands. Fallout as gleeful and counterculture as the games it’s based on, making it all the more fun to watch develop across its first season. Here’s looking forward to where Amazon takes this series next.
The Last of Us
Creator: Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Horror
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Where to Stream: HBOMax
Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us was a Game of the Year for a reason, so it’s no surprise that the deep, human storylines and three-dimensional characters were a storytelling coup when it came to adapting the game for TV. Presented after viewers lived through a global pandemic, the outbreak that forms the backbone of this story’s setting makes the series all the more relevant.
With incredible acting (thanks, in part, to the exceptional chemistry between Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey) The Last of Us isn’t just a video game adaptation; it’s real prestige television. Plus, the writers smartly know when to honor (and when to diverge from) some of the game’s most famous story beats, meaning that both new and old fans get a fresh experience.
Now that’s setting the bar.